STOCKHOLM, January 15. /TASS/. Swedish law enforcement officials have apprehended a man suspected of attacking a residential building belonging to the Russian trade mission and embassy in Stockholm, Expressen daily said on Monday.
On January 12, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a resolute protest to the Swedish Charge d’Affaires’ in Russia, Tobias Lorentzson, over the absence of any reaction on the part of Swedish government to the actions against the Russian mission on the part of a certain Karnyushin, a Swedish national.
On January 6, the man whose surname is Karnyushin, smashed through the barrier arm at the ambassadorial parking lot and then drove through the gate of the trade mission’s garage. On January 8, he damaged the gate of the trade mission’s administrative building while driving a truck and two days later, on January 10, he first broke into the premises of the embassy compound and later on damaged video surveillance equipment on the territory of the trade mission.
Following each incident, the police would detain Karnyushin and then release him several hours later.
Expressen said the 40-year-old offender was detained once again last Saturday "for an illegal incursion and inflicting damage." Karnyushin admitted his guilt.
His lawyer quoted him saying that Karnyushin was heavily intoxicated when he climbed over the trade mission’s fence. "On another occasion, he mistakenly put his automobile into reverse," he said, adding that, to the best of his knowledge, the suspect was married, had a nice salary and generally displayed good conduct.
In the meantime, Karnyushin told interrogators his actions were caused by his anger at Russian diplomats who didn’t give him a Russian entry visa and "were behaving as if they were in Russia."
When an interrogator asked him why he had broken a CCTV camera, Karnyushin said he was angry because the embassy had installed it without permission and there was no notification, or warning sign anywhere around that a camera had been installed.
He said he somehow felt uneasy when someone was filming him without permission but he failed to explain why he thought the embassy had installed the camera illegally.